Dive Brief:
- Nissan Motor Corp. and SK On inked a battery agreement to bolster the automaker’s electric vehicle production in North America, according to a Wednesday press release.
- Under the $661 million deal, the battery manufacturer will supply Nissan with roughly 100 GWh of high-nickel batteries from 2028 to 2033.
- Nissan will use the U.S.-made batteries for EV manufacturing at its assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi.
Dive Insight:
The deal is part of Nissan’s push to grow its U.S. EV manufacturing capacity. The company is also focusing on finding new partnerships to help bring vehicles to market faster.
Nissan previously invested $500 million toward EV production at the Canton plant, per the press release. In 2024, the automaker announced plans to launch 16 new EVs over the next three years, some of which will be assembled in Canton starting in 2028.
The partnership is SK On’s first supply agreement with a Japan-based automaker, per the release. However, the South Korea-based subsidiary of SK Group has also collaborated with Ford on EV battery material production.
The battery producer currently operates two battery plants in the U.S., with four additional plants under construction with partners. SK On’s U.S. production capacity is expected to surpass 180 GWh once all of the plants are fully operational.
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